Paul Bagdon

Paul Bagdon says he enjoys writing novels, articles and short stories more than he did being launched through fences by recalcitrant horses and mucking out stalls at 5:00 a.m. on his small farm. “But,” he continues, “animals have figured heavily in most of my novels, and I’ve drawn on my experience with horses to inject a bit of verisimilitude into my westerns.”

Although he worked as a medical malpractice case supervisor for several years, Paul’s interest in writing remained keen, and during that time he was able to sell an occasional short story or article. “I left the corporate structure knowing that if I never tried full-time writing, I’d regret it for the rest of my life.”

His first novel sale was to a young adult science fiction series published by Ballantine Books. That was fifteen years ago. Since then there have been twenty-seven other book sales. Over 250 of Paul’s short stories and articles have appeared in a wide range of magazines.

Paul's four-book series, West Texas Sunrise, by Baker Publishing Group, continues to do well. Those novels have been purchased by Five Star and released as hardcovers. He is currently under contract to write a contemporary romance novel under a pen name. His action/adventure novel, Partners, was released in January, 2006, by Dorchester/Leisure, and will be followed by another action tale, Deserter, later in the year, also by Dorchester/Leisure.

“It’s absolutely essential that a writer read,” Paul says. “Everything an author reads is, in a real sense, a writing text. The styles, voices, approaches and skills of a successful writer can teach us a great deal about our craft—and give us far more entertainment and drama than we’d get in an eon of TV gawking.”

“There’s no particular mystery to writing successfully for publication,” Paul believes. “It’s a learned—and quite learnable—skill. My critiquing and editing work has a sole function and a single goal: to assist a writer in making his or her manuscript a viable commercial endeavor. In my opinion a novel isn’t really a completed project for the writer until it’s sold and published.”